T20 World Cup 2026: Key areas for Team India’s Title defence – Best combination, playing style, standbys & series to target ahead of the major event.
India will defend their World T20 title when they co-host the 2026 edition along with Sri Lanka. India, who are currently ranked No. 1 in T20Is, will be the favourites to win the title again this year. The home advantage will come as a bonus.
However, the dynamic of this format means that even an underdog can beat the favourites on their day. With less than six months to go for the tournament, India have work on their hands to iron out the rough edges and get the team ready for the tournament.
Here are few essentials India must focus on to defend their title in T20 World Cup 2026
Get the batting core in place, get like-for-like replacements
After India’s success in 2024 World T20 and the retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from this format, India have opted for a new opening combination of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. The two have done well, both individually and collectively as openers.
However, India need to find like-for-like replacements for them, and keep them ready as backups. The likes of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who have done well in IPL 2025, stand a chance to get back in India’s T20I scheme of things.
Similarly, India need to ensure that they have batters who could bat at any spot and take up the responsibility. The No. 3 and No. 4 spots have been rotated between Tilak Verma and Suryakumar Yadav to keep the left-right combination in the middle.
Also, there will be spots up for grabs in the middle-order as Shreyas Iyer could be back in contention after his consistent performance in the last IPL season. Rinku Singh and Iyer could both find a place in the squad. Rinku’s job as a finisher can come handy in Indian conditions.
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Plenty of all-rounders to choose from
In terms of all-rounders, India need to figure out the players who will provide the most utility in Indian conditions during the World T20. Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel will retain the spots, but India would like to test other all-rounders in the fray such as Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar. Shivam Dube who has been part of India’s T20I squad will face the competition from the other all-rounders for a spot in the squad.
Spinners aplenty
India have an X-Factor in Varun Chakravarthy in the spin squad. They need to finalise good supporting spinners who could work in tandem with Chakravarthy. Ravi Bhisnoi, the other specialist spinner in India’s last T20I series against England in February early this year, will face competition from the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, and YS Chahal. Hence, India’s spin squad is spoilt for choices.
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Arshdeep-Bumrah and who else?
Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah will be the frontline pacers for India during the World T20. But they need a couple of good backups. Mohammed Siraj and even Mohammed Shami would stay favourites to bag a spot in the squad. Khaleel Ahmed, who has had a good IPL season for Chennai Super Kings, may be tested in a few games as a like-for-like replacement for Arshdeep.
Overall, India have a large pool of talented and in-form players to choose from for the T20 World Cup next year. India must take into account the players who could give them the results at home. Also, India must look to build a backup of reserves who could replace the first-choice players on any given day. It would be a tough job for selectors to not choose, but whom to leave out for the tournament.
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Style of play
Since Gautam Gambhir took over as coach, and Suryakumar Yadav as captain, they have played an aggressive brand of T20 cricket, batting out the oppositions with big totals by scoring at a fast rate. Will India look to continue in the same vein as they have got the success by playing this brand of cricket? Or, they will like to mellow it down according to the conditions and match situations. These are some of the questions that India need to figure out the answers as they build a team to defend their World T20 title at home.
Asia Cup as a preparatory ground
Asia Cup 2025, which begins from September 9, will feature eight teams and will be held in UAE. This tournament will be a good preparatory ground for India’s team management to finalise the core of the T20 squad that will play the World T20 next year. This tournament will also give them the chance to identity the loopholes and how to bridge them efficiently. Hence, this tournament will not only be vital for selectors to finalise the core, but also for players to win the few remaining spots left and confirm their berth for the World T20.
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